


Day 7: Discipline

by vampirepunks



Series: Blood & Water: Moments from N7 Month [7]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Angst, Backstory, Biotics (Mass Effect), Canon-Typical Violence, Earthborn (Mass Effect), Gen, One-Shot, Pre-Canon, Shepard Twins (Mass Effect), Slice of Life, Tenth Street Reds, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:09:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27446908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vampirepunks/pseuds/vampirepunks
Summary: John ponders his and Jane's experience with their fresh biotic abilities as they approach them with vastly different methods and attitudes.
Series: Blood & Water: Moments from N7 Month [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2000095





	Day 7: Discipline

**Author's Note:**

> N7 Day had a free space prompt, so I chose "discipline." Potential trigger warning for lightly implied past rape/non-con of a minor (John)

John's biotics terrified him when he first discovered them. Logically, he knew their development was a possibility. When they were little kids, their grandmother would tell them about their parents as they sat on the floor and listened, longing for the mother and father they would never have. Their mother worked in Alliance R&D, with a focus on drive core advancement. Over sixteen years ago, working with eezo was comparable to early applications of radiation; their methods left a lot of safety precautions to be desired. Their grandmother would shake her head wistfully when she spoke about it, wondering if the exposures somehow contributed to her death. He doubts it, but everyone needs something to blame when they lose a loved one.

Their grandmother was kind by nature. She talked about how their mother had trouble with the pregnancy from the start, but she never blamed John and his sister. They were too young at the time to understand most of what she said, but he supposes she simply needed someone to talk to, to share her grief. They didn’t see the same compassion and sorrowful wisdom in foster care... He often wonders what their lives would be like now had they stayed rather than run away. 

The Reds are a brutal, tight-knit bunch, each of them made of ambition and rage to the core. Jane fits in as one of them, reveling in the violence and wolf-pack mentality, grinning when she comes home bloodied and bruised. The fire in her eyes is palpable as she counts the credits she makes each day. John is a misfit among them. He prefers to keep to himself as he runs salvage and works at his tech projects. His biotics were an unwelcome guest in his body at first--where he saw the destruction he was capable of, the Reds rejoiced in the idea, seeing his abilities as just another opportunity for a power grab. They couldn’t afford implants… yet… but they’ve pushed him and Jane to develop their abilities without the tech. He sits at the side of the ring, taking a deep breath to try to meditate in the midst of the haphazard training they’re trying to put Jane through. They’d attempted the same thing on him, with no results. It's been a few months since his biotics had manifested in a rush of determination and adrenaline. He'd screamed, _get off of me,_ and something burst from deep within him, dark energy pulsating in his fists like blue fire. His first act as an actualized biotic was murder, and he’ll carry it with him every day, regardless of how much the guy deserved it. He isn’t capable of the same cold approach his sister is--he dwells on the cost, remembering the words he’d read. These violent delights have violent ends. So, he meditates and practices on his own time, not as a means of destruction, but of defense and control. 

Jane’s path was a harsher discipline. After learning her twin brother was biotic, she'd grown obsessed with igniting her own abilities, until she finally did it. She’d cheered in the kitchen, gazing at her arm, concealed in faint, flickering blue. Paloma knew Jane’s nature well and thus had Little Louie putting pressure on her in the ring to develop her powers in an active fight. 

John tries to shift his focus away from the skirmish in front of him, but he can’t take his eyes off of Jane battling Little Louie. The man is easily twice her size--the ‘little’ part is a joke, of course. She dodges his blows with quick feet, guarding her face and stomach between punches. Louie pinpoints a weak point and strikes her to the mouth, momentarily knocking her off-balance. 

“Come on!” he shouts. “Are you biotic or not, you little bitch?” 

She spits blood on the mat and glares at him, planting a fierce punch to his sternum. 

“We both know I don’t need to be to win, but just you wait!” she hisses. 

From the dark corner he sits in, John can see it in her eyes--she’s struggling. She wants the power, but she can’t grasp it. 

“You’d better be!” Louie growls. “You’re fighting one of the Lasoya crew tomorrow night. We’ve got two-thousand credits, double or nothing, on you annihilating the bastard.” 

Her eyes narrow. “Raise it. He won’t be leaving on his own two feet, biotics or not,” she says, landing an uppercut to Louie’s chin. He staggers. 

John closes his eyes, drowns it out, visualizes the eezo nodules from his textbook. It’s not a mysterious force lurking deep in his soul, it’s a physical mutation. He was born biotic, and he can harness it. He imagines the field, concealing him away from this hell, a quiet little bubble of safety. He focuses hard on it, blue like ocean waves and skies above, as natural a force as the wind itself. He feels the soft tingle against his skin as the room warms, and looks at his hands, encased in a barrier, weak but steady. For a moment, there’s pride. This is more than a raw biotic is expected to achieve. 

The field dissipates when Paloma draws his focus away. She sits on the floor across from him. 

“Very impressive, _mijo,”_ she hums, reaching to run her fingers through his red hair. “You’ve always been the underdog, haven’t you?” 

He looks at his feet, ashamed that she caught him. If Paloma knows how far he’s developed his skills, she’ll put him in frontline fights. _Damn it._

She cradles his chin to make him look at her. Crow’s feet show as she smiles, her russet skin dull with age. A wisp of grey hair hangs at her temple, a sign that she’s getting on in years. Her voice is still young, but the tone has softened in the last year. 

“Easy, _cariño,_ I know you don’t like to fight. To each his own strength, remember?” 

He frowns. 

“Perhaps one day, you will pull your nose away from your tech, but I won’t force you,” she says. “Still… that’s some talent you have, hm? God-given, you understand?” 

_If God is anywhere, it’s not here with us,_ he thinks bitterly. 

There’s a sharp edge hidden under the guise of affection, but she doesn’t press the matter...for now. The sound of Louie landing hard on the mat catches her attention. 

Jane stands over him, grinning a wolfish smile. She spits on him and says, “See?! I can take you any day, biotics or not, bitch!” 

Little Louie curses under his breath and coughs, glaring at her. 

“Don’t pretend you didn’t know what you were dealing with, Lou,” Paloma says as she crosses the room with a chuckle. “Go get yourself patched up.” 

Jane pants, a formidable statue of strength and willpower in her own right. 

Paloma touches her shoulder. “Lovely, _chiquita._ Now, take a breath and let’s get you cleaned up, hm? We’ll try again in a few days. I know you can use your power if you just apply yourself.” 

Jane frowns, but nods and follows her, removing the wrapping from her fists as she strides away. 

He swears silently, _I’m going to get us out of here Janey-bug. Things will be better. Two more years, we’re eighteen… Two more years, and it’s Alliance payroll, just like mom and dad._


End file.
